What makes RI's notorious hot spot for early season stripers so good?

[cheferson]

Bait gets blown in and trapped in pocket , water is shallow and warms quickly, jetty rocks warm up in the sun and warms the nearby water, salt pond dumps out holdovers

[spence]

There's 60,000 nitwits that flock there every spring increasing the odds of a catch by 100 fold

-spence

[JohnR]

Hey Mike - I have to tell you, my 6 year old son likes SGW so much it is as much a favorite as the Power Rangers - He loves it and is dying to go to Cuttyhunk

[cow tamer]

Commercial fish waste sends out a pretty good scent trail

[BigFish]

Because stripers arrive in Rhody before they get to Mass!

[Nebe]

Originally Posted by cheferson

Bait gets blown in and trapped in pocket , water is shallow and warms quickly, jetty rocks warm up in the sun and warms the nearby water, salt pond dumps out holdovers

my thoughts exactly.

[ThrowingTimber]

clamworm hatches happen year round BUT are more prevalent around may june. These fish when caught will usually have dark wormlike creatures in their gullets Or little black stringy things as Ive heard them called.... which would be a give away that they've been feeding over some very rich muddy waters.. like ummmmm where these hatches occur

The shallow water and radiant heat Im sure has something to do with it as well. They leave the ponds and round the bend to warmer water, grub up then boogie back and go nighty nite.

Kids do have fun with them though dont they Too bad theyre too little to carry tags, it would be a pretty cool study

[TunaCell]

Originally Posted by ThrowingTimber

Too bad theyre too little to carry tags, it would be a pretty cool study

No, not too small at all. ALS recomends a minimum tagging length of 12". The ones I usualy tag in Matunuck are approx. 15" and up. That being siad here are some tag recaptures of fish tagged in Matunuck:

Tagged: 4/21/05
Recap: 5/20/06- Justin Pilachowski, Westerly, RI

Tagged: 4/25/06
Recap: 7/02/06- James Makein, Peter and Rowley R., MA

Tagged: 4/01/06
Recap: 8/29/06-Rob Brothers, Pleasant Bay, MA

Tagged: 4/11/06
Recap: 8/5/06- Michael Polakowski, Harpswell, ME

Tagged: 4/29/05
Recap: 8/5/06-Richard Rudolph, Hampton, NH

In addition to these I also had a few tagged in April end up in Truro about a month later, although I've misplaced the return data at the moment. On an interesting side note, fishing friend and mentor Al Anderson has tagged fish at the wall and that have ended up in Jersey only months later. Go figure.

So far all the tagging data I've collected does not indicate that any of the Matunuck fish overwinter in the Thames. With the ammount of fish I tag on the wall and the ammount tagged in the Thames at least one would have shown at the other location.

Also I'm not sure if these are pond fish either. I just began tagging salt pond fish last spring and winter. It'll be interesting if any of them show in Matuncuk. And does it seem to anyone else that the coldness of the water would be more likely to cool the rocks than vise versa?

[Nebe]

Originally Posted by TunaCell

And does it seem to anyone else that the coldness of the water would be more likely to cool the rocks than vise versa?

feel those rocks in the afternoon..... they're nice and toasty.

[TunaCell]

Originally Posted by Nebe

feel those rocks in the afternoon..... they're nice and toasty.

Granted, the rocks can get pretty warm come afternoon. But those are the dry ones. The ones exposed to the water are either partialy or completely submerged in 40 degree sea water. It's not the first time I've heard the warm rock theory, but every time I hear it I can't possibly agree with it. So the sun warms the rocks which warms the water? Does it not make far more sense if you eliminate the middile entity in that scenario? The sun just warms the water?

[Fish_Eye]

I agree with a lot of what has been said, yet I’m as puzzled about where they come from as everyone else. Let’s face it, until they start talking and telling us what we want to know, it’s all conjecture…and god knows, I’ve interrogated a few of them…they just won’t crack.

A visit to Google Earth will reveal a lot. The shallow sloping pocket of sand sits with a compass heading that guarantees it will warm up fast and the breakwater “heat sink” theory might even hold water. Yes, like all abrupt walls alongside a beach there is a certain amount of corralling of bait, however in the early spring there isn’t always an abundant of tiny finfish in the area.

One of the reasons I think the wall gives up a lot of early season stripers is the abundance of sand shrimp in the area…the place is loaded with ‘em. A plain old fashioned bucktail jig, even one that isn’t garnished with pork or plastic will produce fish, especially if you allow it to bounce of the sandy bottom (when shrimp take off out of the sand they produce the same ‘puff’ of smoke like effect that a jig creates when it hits bottom. The addition of a plastic tail only heightens the allure of the offering. Small teasers are also very effective off the wall as they do a good job of replicating these tiny crustaceans.

According to a recent journal on the Seasonal Distribution and Abundance of Sand
Shrimp in the York River-Chesapeake Bay Estuary Maximum concentrations occurred in winter when bottom water temperatures were between 5 C and 11 degrees C (41 - 51.8 degrees Fahrenheit) The concentration of shrimp was reduced in spring when the temperature exceeded 15 C (59 degrees Fahrenheit). This sounds about right for the spring conditions along the wall.

There are also a ton of green crabs and lady crabs to feed the somewhat larger linesiders and tiny lobsters use to cover the bottom like nightcrawlers on a wet lawn.

Fishing the wall is akin to opening day of trout fishing, it’s not the size or the quantity of fish that matters; it’s simply the fact that you’re out there doing it again. Maybe I’ll run into a few of you there.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by Fish_Eye

One of the reasons I think the wall gives up a lot of early season stripers is the abundance of sand shrimp in the area…the place is loaded with ‘em. A plain old fashioned bucktail jig, even one that isn’t garnished with pork or plastic will produce fish, especially if you allow it to bounce of the sandy bottom (when shrimp take off out of the sand they produce the same ‘puff’ of smoke like effect that a jig creates when it hits bottom. The addition of a plastic tail only heightens the allure of the offering. Small teasers are also very effective off the wall as they do a good job of replicating these tiny crustaceans.

I agree Mike. Portions of South Cape beach hold a lot of shrimp too. It will usually produce numbers of smalls in about another 10 days to two weeks.Might even be singles there now. I used to catch a lot of early season fish there with a small popper(hooks removed) and about 30" of 20# mono tied to the rear hook wire. At the end of the mono was a small white 1/4 oz bucktail. Its all I ever needed.

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by cheferson

Bait gets blown in and trapped in pocket , water is shallow and warms quickly, jetty rocks warm up in the sun and warms the nearby water, salt pond dumps out holdovers

Newport's traditional early spring hot spots also support and follow this idea.

I did get adventurous though last year and found baby stripes in many places around Newport that don't, but those catches were no where near as consistent as what takes place in the corners.

For bonus points, where do the Newport fish come from? I have serious doubts they're holdover between the lice and the location, but who knows...

[Pete_G]

Last year, there was so much bait in the corners that it was spraying out of the water, fall blitz style. Rat stripers were happily jumping on top water lures as well during the 2nd week of April.

I think food is the over riding reason they are where they are (as always?) but there might be other contributing factors...

[eelman]

Most of the fish at the west wall are simply fish that have wintered over in salt pond ...some others are from places like the Thames..The "wall" is extremely long and does trap bait . its just a natural occorence for the fish and bait to be pushed in on certain winds. I do think however that many of the bass there especially early are not migrating fish from the south at all but rather fish that have wintered over in the pond and are stretching there wings and cruising out and around. The pawcatuck river has the same thing, a healthy winter pop that starts moving around .

The areas like matunuck at the Ocean mist , the rockpile,deep hole etc...usually see a good push of real migrants the last week of April and the first couple weeks of may but, by then there are better fish to be had.At that point there all mixed in. Places like providence hold thousands of bass all winter that also join the mix.

Then we have water temps and we simply warm faster than ma waters..No one really knows why it happens like it does, it just does...I have seen years there when someone caught bass on April 8th and then another one was not had until April 18th...the oppisite also..I have caught fish there as early as St. Patricks day ! No way those are southern migrants...so it can happen for any number of reasons...The bottom line is there here.....Its funny because last year I had all I wanted in the bay the same time they showed up in Matunuck..made me wonder if it just happens all at once..it most likely does..But That wall is special and it traps them right in there, thats why everyone heads there..how many other spots does it happen at that go unfished?

Another thought on water temps, Look at the winter populations in some of the Ma and rhody spots, these fish were hitting top water in January !! Ask Clammer and Jim White...Hearing that threw everything I thought I knew about bass out the window...if they can hit that aggresive in the winter then why would it matter so much now?? So again, no talking head knows, its all guess work..these fish defy logic at every turn...and thats what makes them so interesting.

The bottom line is ..Its time to go Fishing again

[MarshCappa]

Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&

The bottom line is ..Its time to go Fishing again

I'm all about the bottom line!

[fishaholic18]

Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&

Most of the fish at the west wall are simply fish that have wintered over in salt pond ...some others are from places like the Thames..The "wall" is extremely long and does trap bait . its just a natural occorence for the fish and bait to be pushed in on certain winds. I do think however that many of the bass there especially early are not migrating fish from the south at all but rather fish that have wintered over in the pond and are stretching there wings and cruising out and around. The pawcatuck river has the same thing, a healthy winter pop that starts moving around .


The areas like matunuck at the Ocean mist , the rockpile,deep hole etc...usually see a good push of real migrants the last week of April and the first couple weeks of may but, by then there are better fish to be had.At that point there all mixed in. Places like providence hold thousands of bass all winter that also join the mix.

Then we have water temps and we simply warm faster than ma waters..No one really knows why it happens like it does, it just does...I have seen years there when someone caught bass on April 8th and then another one was not had until April 18th...the oppisite also..I have caught fish there as early as St. Patricks day ! No way those are southern migrants...so it can happen for any number of reasons...The bottom line is there here.....Its funny because last year I had all I wanted in the bay the same time they showed up in Matunuck..made me wonder if it just happens all at once..it most likely does..But That wall is special and it traps them right in there, thats why everyone heads there..how many other spots does it happen at that go unfished?

Another thought on water temps, Look at the winter populations in some of the Ma and rhody spots, these fish were hitting top water in January !! Ask Clammer and Jim White...Hearing that threw everything I thought I knew about bass out the window...if they can hit that aggresive in the winter then why would it matter so much now?? So again, no talking head knows, its all guess work..these fish defy logic at every turn...and thats what makes them so interesting.

The bottom line is ..Its time to go Fishing again

Wow..DeJaVu..Didn't we just have this conversation? I totally agree with Bill's take on that..